"Andy Warhol" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. This is an acoustic song about one of Bowie's greatest inspirations, the American pop artist Andy Warhol. The song starts with some studio chat where Bowie explains to producer Ken Scott, who has just been heard to mispronounce Warhol's name when introducing the take, the right way to say it ("It's WarHOL, actually." / "What did I say?" / " 'Hole.' It's hol. As in hols."). Scott solemnly reintroduces the take with the correct pronunciation, then Bowie suddenly begins to play, amidst laughter. The song is memorable for its distinctive, flamenco-sounding opening riff on the acoustic guitar that continues through the song.

Bowie later played the song to Andy Warhol, who reportedly disliked it as he thought the lyrics made fun of his physical appearance. When the song had finished playing, Warhol and Bowie reportedly just stared at each other for a while until Warhol said "I like your shoes" and the pair then had a 45 minute conversation about shoes.

Originally the song was written for Dana Gillespie in 1971, but her version of the song was not released until 1974 on her album Weren't Born a Man. This version features Mick Ronson on guitar.

Other releases

• It was released as the B-Side of the single "Changes" in January 1972.

• It also appeared on the Japanese compilation The Best of David Bowie from 1974.

Live versions

• A version recorded Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, October 20th, 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72.

• Bowie played this song at BBC's Sounds of the 70s with Bob Harris May 23rd, 1972. This was broadcast June 19th, 1972, and in 2000 released on the Bowie at the Beeb album